Drying system



E. A. STIENEN DRYING SYSTEM Aug. 24, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 21 1951 1 l I I INVENTOR.

' Aug. 24, 1954 E. STIENEN DRYING SYSTEM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 21 1951 INVENTOR. fines? 1% famem HTTOPNEY Patented Aug. 24, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DRYING SYSTEM Ernest A. Stienen, Peekskill, N. Y.

Application July 21, 1951, Serial No. 237,929

heater for drying the packages following the extraction step. Both extraction and drying vessels are spaced from each other thereby requiring labor in moving the carrier containing the. packages from the extractor vessel to the drying vessel. Since the yarn is heated during the extraction process, a substantial amount of heat is lost during the transfer from one vessel to the other, which heat loss must be replenished by the heating unit associated with the drying vessel. Further, the tendency has been in the past to leave the carrier with its packages in the extraction vessel for a period of time following extraction of the liquid, in order to do other Work, and-then move the carrier to the drying vessel. This also consumes not only heat but also increases the time interval required for the overall extraction and drying of the yarn.

It is thus another object of my invention to overcome the hereinbefore noted disadvantages of the prior art by providing a combined liquid extracting and drying vessel for respectively extracting liquid from and drying the yarn in prompt succession, thereby reducing the time interval, labor (since the yarn remains in the same vessel), space, and equipment costs.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive, and practical unit for extracting and dyeing yarn particularly in package form.

Other and further objects will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

In accordance with my invention, the foregoing objects are accomplished by providing apparatus comprising, in combination, a combined liquid extracting and drying vessel, a plenum chamber provided with heating means, a pair of conduits each with a self-sealing gate valve interconnecting the vessel and the plenum chamber, a

1 Claim. (Cl. 334-404) thirdself-sealing gate valve being disposed in a conduit leading to the sewer for exhausting the liquid during the extracting period, and a blower provided with a suitable motor coupled by a single conduit to the plenum chamber.

A more complete understanding of the invention will be obtained from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figs. 1 and 2 show top plan and elevation views, respectively, of the extractor-dryer of my invention;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View showing the details of the combined extractor-dryer vessel taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 1 in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 3 in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings, particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, there is shown a combined extracting and drying vessel ill connected by conduits or ducts l2, M with one side of a plenum chamber it provided with heating means, such as steam pipes I8, 20 for heating air passing therethrough. The other side of the plenum. chamber i6 is connected by a single conduit 22 to a conventional blower discharge member 24 driven by any suitable means, such as a motor 26.

In conduits l2 and M are shown individual valves 28, 3t, respectively, for opening and closin the passageways through said respective conduits. A third valve 32 is shown in a conduit 34, which interconnects conduit [4 with a sewer, this valve 32 being opened during the liquid extracting period for carrying the liquid air or moisture to the sewer. A fourth valve 36 is optionaland is shown in a conduit 38 connecting the conduit [2 with the sewer. Normally, during the drying step, the moistened air is exhausted directly to the atmosphere but in the event that the moistened air must be carried to the sewer, then this fourth valve 36 and conduit 38 are required. While any individual type of valve may be used, applicant has found his self-sealing gate valve most efficient for use in this invention, which gate valve is disclosed in applicants co-pending United States patent application having Serial Number 234,960 and filing date of July 2, 1951.

Referring now particularly to Figs. 3 and 4, there shown in greater detail the combined extracting and drying vessel Ill which comprises the usual shell 46 having side openings 32, M for the conduits l2, M, respectively; a bottom 36 and removable top 48 with counterweight 50 (Fig. 2)

is pivotally mounted upon the top for facilitating removal thereof from the shell t0. Within the shell are provided two compartments A and B, compartment A being formed by a duct 52 coupled to conduit M at opening 46, the inner end thereof opening into a hollow stand 54 of circular configuration, which stand is rigidly secured to the bottom it of the shell. The upper portion of the stand :1 is provided with an annular portion or platform .55 having a centrally disposed opening 53. The stand 54 is also provided at its upper end with a centrally disposed threaded socket =60 supported by gussets 62 secured to the stand 5d. The platform 55 is shown carrying a conventional carrier E5 3 having an inclined bottom '66 with an opening 61 coaxial with opening 58, a spaced horizontal second bottom 38, and perforated hollow tubes '69 shown partially equipped with conventional packages ill. The carrier is also shown equip ed with a centrally disposed rod 12 for facilitating removal of the carrier, the lower end thereof being threadedly secured to the socket til. Thus compartment A may be said to comprise the inner portions of duct 52, stand 54, the space between bottoms t6 and t8 and the hollow portion 13 of tubular members 59; while compartment 13 may be said to comprise the remaining area of shell 40, which is coupled at opening 42 to conduit i2.

The operation of the drying system will now be described, extraction of liquid from the packages being first discussed. Referring to Fig. 1 where solid arrows show the direction of air flow, gate valves 28 and 32 are opened and gate valves and 36 (when used) are closed. The air discharged from blower Ed is passed into plenum chamber It via conduit 22 where it is suitably heated by steam pipes 18, 29, after which the heated air is passed via conduit 12 and opened valve 28 into compartment B of the shell 40 (Fig. 3) where it is forced through the packages iii. The moisture or liquid laden air then passes through the hollow portions '13 of the perforated hollow tubes 5:? into compartment A and thence via ducts Hi and 3d and opened gate valve 32 into the sewer. It is thus evident that during the extraction period the air is passed through the packages T0 from the outer peripheral surfaces thereof to the inner peripheral surfaces, which may be termed herein for convenience outsidein.

For the drying operation, valve 30 is opened and valves 28 and 34 are closed. The top 48 is then removed from the shell 49, assmning that it is permissible to exhaust the evaporated air into the atmosphere. However, if it is necessary to exhaust the evaporated air into the sewer, then valve 36 is opened. Referring to Fig. 1, the heated air from the plenum chamber I 6 then passes through conduit 14 and opened valve 30 (see dotted arrow) into the compartment A of the shell 30 and thence via perforated hollow tubes 59 through the packages 10 and thence into the atmosphere or sewer via conduit I2 and opened valve 36, as required. It is thus apparent in this instance that during the drying operation the air is passed through packages 70 from the inner peripheral surfaces thereof to the outer peripheral surfaces, which may be termed herein for convenience inside-out.

From the foregoing, it is readily apparent that an advance in the art has occurred by combining in one unit both the extraction and drying operations. In the extraction operation free moisture in the so-called liquid stage is removed, while in the drying operation we have what is known as an evaporative condition. To differentiate between the two steps, it is important to note that the resistance of the wound package of yarn, when saturated, offers considerably higher resistance to air flow, in view of its moisture content, than during the drying process. Thus, applicant has found that when the extraction operation is relatively complete, it was possible to reverse the flow so that the direction of heated air from the inside of the package to the outside of the package was readily consummated, since the yarn ofiered lower resistance to air flow because of the removal of the excess, so-called free liquid.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matters herein are to be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

A combined extracting and drying machine for processing yarn in package form comprising, in combination, a vessel including a removable cover for extracting liquid from and drying the yarn, said vessel being subdivided into two separate compartments, means including a blower for supplying heated air to the vessel, a plenum chamber including means for heating the air interposed between the blower and the vessel, a single conduit between the blower and the plenum chamber, a pair of conduits between the plenum chamber and the two compartments of the vessel, one of said conduits forming a wall separating the compartments, a valve in each of said pair of conduits for selectively directing heated air into and out of said vessel, perforated tubes sup-porting said packages disposed and arranged within said vessel whereby the interior of said perforated tubes, interior of said packages and exterior of said packages are in series relation with said pair of conduits, a conduit with a valve connected at one end to one of said pair of conduits between said vessel and the valve associated with said one of said pair of conduits, said last conduit being connected at its other end to a sewer and thereby being adapted to discharge the liquid from the packages during the extracting period while evaporated air is discharged directly to the atmosphere upon removal of the cover during the drying period, the blower in both extracting and drying periods taking in air only from the atmosphere and the vessel discharging liquid only to the sewer and evaporated air to the atmosphere.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

